Plan crafts and activities based on skills and interests and on your moral teachings.
This might be a good opportunity to introduce or enforce your beliefs if they conflict with the relics of the popular culture.

Program Format

Time

Activity

Sabbath School

Time

Special Program

Length

One hour

Two hours

Format

1

2

3

1

2

3

4

15

Early

Early birds

15

Early birds

10

Songs

Songs

Songs

Songs

15

Songs

Songs

Check in

Check in

15

Story

Story

Story

Bible games and group activity

30

Story or game

Story

Rotate to different stations

Story, craft, music, games and food booths

20

Activity

Lessons

Lessons

50

Craft

10

Snacks

Snacks

15

Optional

5

Closing

Closing

Closing

Closing

10

Closing

Closing

Closing

Closing

Sabbath School Format

Group Rotation Schedule

Time Period

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Activity

Group Location

1

Craft 1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

2

Craft 2

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1

3

Craft 3

3

4

5

6

7

8

1

2

4

Craft 4

4

5

6

7

8

1

2

3

5

Craft 5

5

6

7

8

1

2

3

4

6

Games

6

7

8

1

2

3

4

5

7

Movie

7

8

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

Snacks

8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Group size maximum is 6 to 8 children.

The movie or snack stations can be used to hold the late children until the next rotation.

Special Class - the traditional class with a special activity. Either snacks or a craft or a group project.
It helps us to plan for special events that occur during the month that are significant to our culture.

Group - All classes meet as one group for a group activity or a special project.

Special Program Format
These programs last during Sabbath School and regular church service. The scheduled time for each activity can vary.

Entertain - Children are entertained by a single performer. This performance could include a group activity with the children. For example, puppet ministry, a game show format, or Bible drills.

Super Sabbath - Children meet to do a single activity. Generally, this is a major craft or it could be a major game or competitive activity.
Unless the craft or activity is flexible, this format is not good if you have many late children.

Rotation - Scheduled rotations. Every 15 minutes, each group rotates to a new activity.
New or late children must wait for the start of a next rotation to join in an activity.
Until then, they can watch a video program or prepare for the next group by getting all the free items that are distributed to each group.
If you often have children who come late, this format is good.
It rewards those who are early because they get a chance to visit all the stations.
It also helps the late children to complete a project.

Bazaar or Booths - Support multiple activities. Set up different booths or stations and allow each group of children to rotate to different stations. Children spend ten to 15 minutes at each station.
Each station specializes in one activity.
Use different devices to track the attendance of Children at different activities.

Sample

General Schedule Format

Month

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Special Program

First Quarter

God and Me - A personal relationship

New Beginnings

January

Class

Class

Class

Special

Super Sabbath

February

Class

Special

Class

Group

March

Class

Class

Class

Class

Second Quarter

Family

Planting

April

Class

Class

Class

Special

Bazaar. Remember Passover or easter.

May

Class

Mother's day

Class

Group

June

Class

Class

Father's day

Class

Third Quarter

Growing in God

Growing

July

Class

Class

Class

Special

Super Sabbath. Coordinate with vacation Bible school.

August

Class

Class

Class

Group

September

Class

Class

Class

Class

Fourth Quarter

Celebrating the presence of God

Harvest

October

Class

Class

Class

Special

Super Sabbath or Bazaar. Remember Christmas and Hannukah.

November

Class

Class

Class

Special

December

Class

Class

Group

Special

Year 1

Bible Heroes and Characters

Month

Topic

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Special Program

First Quarter

The Friends of God

God chooses a friend

January

Before the Flood

Adam

Abel

Enoch

Noah

The Fathers The Heros of God

February

The Call

Abraham

Isaac

Jacob

Joseph

March

Israel

Moses

Joshua

Peter

Paul

Second Quarter

The People

God chooses a people

April

Men

Gideon

Samson

Jonathan

Hosea

The 12 sons of Jacob.

May

Women

Eve

Ruth

Deborah

Jezebel

June

Children

Josiah

David

Moses

Jesus

Third Quarter

The Leaders of the People

God chooses a leader

July

Prophets

Daniel

Isaiah

Jonah

Elijah

The Leaders

August

Kings

Saul

David

Solomon

Hezekiah

September

Priests

Aaron

Eli

Samuel

Melchizedek

Fourth Quarter

God comes to His people

God leads his people

October

The Baby

Mary

Simeon

Eli

The Baptist

Jesus - the Gift from God

November

The Disciples

Peter

Judas

Matthew

John

December

Jesus

Birth

Life

Miracles

Mission

Year 2

The Love of God

Month

Topic

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Special Program

First Quarter

A Relationship with God

Talk to God

January

Mothers

Sarah

Rachel

Hannah

Mary

Prayer Psalm 23

February

David

Courage

Thanksgiving

Protection

Forgiveness

March

Jesus

Submission

Lord's Prayer

Crucifixion

High Priest

Second Quarter

The Word of God

Knowing God

April

Bible

Books

Writers

History

Psalms

The Armor

May

Law

Love

Commandments

Grace

Faith

June

Jesus

Creator

Leader

Example

Redeemer

Third Quarter

The Holy Spirit

Work for God

July

Teaching

Samuel

Eli's sons

Sanctuary

Parables

The Gifts

August

Preaching

Children

Donkey

Stones talk

Disciples

September

Miracles

Storm

Possession

Ten Lepers

Lazarus

Fourth Quarter

Growing in God

The harvest

October

Love

Ruth

Jonathan

The Coat

Jesus

The Fruits

November

Patience

Job

Joseph

Abraham

Paul

December

Peace

David

Melchizedek

Jesus

Jerusalem

Year 3

Evangelism - Building the church

Month

Topic

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Special Program

First Quarter

A family for God

Why I believe

January

Me

Who: Prayer

What: Bible study

Why: Worship

How Much: Commitment

Me and My House.

February

Parents

Priest

Counselor

Teacher

Discipline

March

Family

Work

Worship

Sabbath

Church

Second Quarter

Friends for God

Telling others

April

Neighbor

Knowing

Helping

Praying

Invitation

My Neighborhood

May

School

Teachers

Staff

Popular

Unpopular

June

Friends

Siblings

School

Church

God

Third Quarter

A house for God

Living the life

July

Reverence

Manners

People

Property

Service

My Church

August

Worship

Praising

Reading

Listening

Doing

September

People

Teacher

Deacon

Members

Pastor

Fourth Quarter

A world for God

Tell the world

October

Missionaries

Support

Medical

Bible workers

Inner cities

The Great Comission. The World

November

Foreign

Language

Culture

People

Religion

December

World

10/40 Window

Atheist

Poor

Rich

Year 4

The Wonderful Creation

Month

Topic

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Special Program

First Quarter

The Planet - "I am the light"

The earth

January

Earth

The Rock

The Pearl

The Ephod

Blue Stone

Recycling Caring for the earth

February

Water

Flood

Red Sea

Foot washing

Baptism

March

Sun, moon, stars

Joseph dreams

Matthew 24

Menorah

Jesus

Second Quarter

The Trees - "I am the vine"

Body temple

April

Grain

Bread

Manna

Famine in Egypt

Daniel's beans

Health

May

Fruits

Grape

Olive

Forbidden tree

Tree of life

June

Temperance

Alcohol

Drugs

Smoking

Water

Third Quarter

The Animals - "I am the Lamb of God"

Clean and Unclean

July

Birds

Dove

Raven

Bees

Rooster

Care of Animals

August

Fish

Frog

Fish

Whale

Dog

September

Animals

Lamb, Bull

Lion

Goat

Donkey

Fourth Quarter

The Sabbath - "I will give you rest"

Time for God

October

Rest

Sabbath

Jubilee

Forgiveness

Heaven

Care for people

November

Friends

Jonathan

Delilah

Ruth

Moses

December

Celebrate

Communion

Baptism

Wedding

Tabernacles

Year 5

Rescue Me!

Month

Topic

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Special Program

First Quarter

Noah's Ark

Noah

January

Sin

Adam

Cain

People

Babel

The Promise

February

Message

Noah

The Ark

The Animals

The Door

March

Judgment

Haman

Nineveh

Sodom

Flood

Second Quarter

The Exodus - escape from sin. The Plan of Salvation

Moses

April

Exodus

Slavery

Moses

Plagues

Freedom

The Sanctuary

May

Sanctuary

Outer Court

Holy Place

Most Holy Place

Heaven

June

Feasts

Passover

Pentecost

Yom Kippur

Tabernacles

Third Quarter

The Crucifixion - God keeps his promise

Messiah

July

The Seed

Eve

Isaac

Judah

Mary

The Pardon

August

The Lamb

Innocent

Sacrifice

Substitute

Cleansing

September

Messiah

Suffering

Death

Resurrection

Conqueror

Fourth Quarter

The Second Coming - God rescues me

Jesus

October

Sin

Gift

Repentance

Baptism

Communion

The Rescue

November

Message

Covenant

Gospel

Prophets

3 Angels

December

The Coming

Judgment

Pardon

Reward

Heaven

Below is a sample of how each month is organized.

Year 5

March: The Judgment

Lesson learned

The actions of God teaches us more about His mercy than his anger.

Memory verse: Matthew 7: 1-2

Bible Verse

Activity

1

Haman

Judged by your own standards

Esther 5-7

Dinner party

2

Nineveh

God prefers to forgive

Jonah 4

Craft

3

Sodom

Judgment of a city. A few righteous people can save a whole city.

Genesis 18

Play

4

Flood

Judgment of the world. God protects the righteous during the punishment.

Genesis 6-9

Puppet Show

Special program

The covenant. The promise of God to provide a way for all to escape judgment.

Scheduling
The special program format is planned for the end of each quarter.
A special class can be planned for the end of each of the other months or during months where there are five Sabbaths.

Staff
Some group activities such as games, allow some of the staff to take time off.

Greeters. Welcomes the child, takes attendance and distributes name tags

Craft Assistants. But others require many more helpers. Most crafts are designed to be personalized or includes a variety of choices.
The process of doing this begins when the child arrives.
This person writes the name of the child on their craft, allows them to choose a craft and keeps them in order until craft time arrives.

Music. Song service and music leaders.

Story Tellers. The major entertainment.

Teachers and Group Leaders. Helps distribute crafts and assists children with their crafts.

Security. Makes sure children do not leave the room or go to the bathroom unsupervised.

Computer. Games can be used as one booth activity or as an activity for the early birds.

Acting. Each child acts a role in the bible story. This includes any significant animal.

Food and Allergies.

No Peanuts. Many children are allergic to peanuts and other nut oils.
Peanut makes and excellent glue for creating crafts from fresh food.

Snacks. Many people are vegetarian or have rules about the junk food contents of their children's meals.
If you can, avoid food or distribute only fresh fruits and vegetables especially with a group of unknown children.

Contests.
I personally do not like competitive activities, but we can keep these to a minimum and
use this time to encourage team building, listening, and good leadership skills.
These activities are only to be done a minimum number of times.
They are not meant to teach, but to reinforce information already learned.
You can vary the teams.

Boys versus Girls.

By Birth month. Those born in January to June versus July to December.

Class versus Teacher. The teacher gets double any points the class loses and gets points for any misbehavior.

Color of clothes. Warm colors versus cool colors.

Alphabetical order. By the beginning of their first names.

All the games are based on knowledge of the Bible. But you can make it more interesting.
You can pattern the format of the game after several games and game shows.

Concentration. Five related categories of four or five questions.
As each question is answered a hidden picture is uncovered. This is a series of drawings that are based on the sound of the word.
Use only Bible words. Extra points are given for solving the clue.

Jeopardy . Five related categories of four or five questions.
You provide the answer, they provide the question.

The Feud. This is based on lists of related items in the Bible.
The real game gives more points for the most popular answer. You can give more points for the more difficult answers.

Tell the truth. The absent minded teacher.
This form of story telling is good only for a group that knows the story.
The object is to tell the story and let the children point out your mistakes.
The teacher gets the points that the students lose.
It is important to interrupt the story to correct the error as soon it is clear that they did not see the error.
One tricky statement is to say that Jonah was caught by a whale, or that there were three wise men. The bible story only said a big fish - not a whale. We do not know how many wise men visited the baby Jesus.

With younger groups you can modernize the story so that they can catch the errors.
For example, Jonah went to Ninevah on a bus. If you have sound effects then that would be fantastic!
Read Proverbs 30: 5-6 and Revelation 22: 18-19 to make sure that you are not in violation.

Teachinghearts games. Many of our games can be used as the main program or to entertain early birds or as ice breakers.

"In the belly of the fish". The game is based on the hang man game.
There are several categories from which you can choose and the game can be personalized to fit your program. Teams can take turns guessing a letter. They lose their turn when they guess incorrectly.
Give points for each letter guessed and a larger number of points for identifying the word.
The number of points given for identifying the word decreases as more letters are chosen.
For example, if there is 1000 points for identifying a ten letter word then, subtract 100 points for each letter correctly identified and 20 points for each incorrect letter.
The value of the pot decreases to a minimum of 50 points.
Both teams lose points if Jonah gets eaten by the fish.

"Match Game". The images can be personalized and the game modified to suit your needs.

Strangers How well do you know your group? Take pictures from a variety of angles of ears, teeth, nose, mouth feet, fingers of members of the group and see if others can identify them.
Match the body part with either a picture or the name of the person.

Alphabet. This is appropriate for children learning the alphabet. Match Upper case to lower case letters, or match letters to the names of familiar objects.

Numbers. Match a number to the number of objects in the picture.

Colors. Match the name of the color with the object.

"Plastic Surgery". Reconstruct faces with Dr. Frank N. Stein. Allows you to use pictures of your eyes, mouth and nose.
Play Strangers.

Security
We do not live in heaven and unfortunately many people join children's ministries simply to hurt children.
This includes pastors, teachers, and nice friendly old people.

Children should not be allowed to leave the room without an approved adult.

Children should not leave the building without their parents or guardians. Set up a system that identifies the people who drop off and pick up children who are left alone.

When you register children for special programs, make sure that parents understand that they should come inside to pick up their children.
They should not be allowed to wait outside for their parents.
You should also make it clear to parents that you expect them to accompany the children when they come in and to pick them up.

Children should not go to the bathroom alone.

It is probably good to periodically check the bathrooms to make sure that no one is hanging around there.

Organize your space so that younger children are closer to the nearest bathrooms.
They will not get lost very easily and you will have to make many trips there.

Teenagers tend to be caught up in the moment, especially when they are together. As a result they are sometimes unreliable.
Older children may play too roughly with younger children or ignore them or they may say inappropriate things.
They should not be left alone to supervise children. Especially young boys.

The children of your volunteers usually fall through the cracks.

I realize that it is impossible to put all the detailed instructions and examples and alternatives on this site.
But I have included enough information so that you can make your own plans.